Drawings are used to express ideas visually on the web, in print or in other media. Drawings can be created and edited in software using various drawing applications. A typical drawing includes a plurality of paths, each of which defines a set of zero or more enclosed areas. For example, a straight line segment has no enclosed areas, a square has one, and a figure eight has two. All areas defined by a single path are typically filled with an attribute, such as color. When a path is modified, the color of its enclosed areas remains the same. Paths are maintained at different layers so that their areas can overlap but not intersect each other. In order to color an intersection, the user has to perform a complicated work around. For example the user could create a separate path enclosing an area the same shape as the desired intersecting area, and then fill it with the desired color. An improved method of handling attributes for areas defined by intersections is needed. In addition, it would be useful to have a method that maintains consistency of these attributes across edits.